To make the RTI filing process easy, we take care of drafting the application, paying fees and submitting the application. -Pradeep Bhatt | CO-FOUNDER, ONLINERTI.COM

The RTI (Right to Information) Act is a major weapon in the hands of citizens. But filing RTIs is not simple, and people often avoid it for that reason.

Pradeep Bhatt and his colleague Vinoth Ranganathan, who were working for Singapore-based Ninetology High Tech, toyed with the idea of starting an online RTI portal to assist the Indian diaspora. But what started off as a casual project morphed into a fullfledged RTI portal after Ranganathan decided to relocate to India.

Both Bhatt and Ranganathan quit their jobs at Ninetology and launched OnlineRTI.com in 2012. “The idea was to promote good governance and transparency by making RTI an effective tool online,“ said Bhatt, CEO and cofounder of OnlineRTI.com. He holds an MTech in computer science from IIT Bombay and worked with multimedia products company Emuzed that was later acquired by Aricent. He was later employed at Nokia in Finland and then returned to India to join SlingMedia that was acquired by EchoStar. He joined Ninetology soon after.

Bhatt said he interacted with RTI activists to bring the idea alive. “We did a perception audit and found that filing an RTI application was considered a tedious process. To make the process easy, we take care of drafting the application, paying fees and submitting the application. We have automated the whole process,“ he said.

OnlineRTI charges Rs 99 for every application. The money is used to pay the mandatory government fee and for paying experts who draft the application as per the rules. “You are expected to get the information by post from the concerned authority within 30 days,“ he said.
The RTI Act guarantees that the public infor mation of ficer (PIO) should respond to an application within 30 days. However, in some cases it may extend to 40-50 days. “In scenarios where the information is not provided, you can file for an appeal,“ Bhat said.

The number of applications on the portal has increased substantially since its launch. It stood at 2,000 applications in March last year; it was about 14,000 applications in June this year. The startup has raised Rs 50 lakh through Lets Venture, a marketplace that brings investors and startups together. Investors included Lets Venture co-founder Shanti Mohan and Oliphans Capital.

The startup works with a network of lawyers and PIOs across the country, expect in Orissa. “We will soon launch operations in Orissa,“ he said.